UNLV football begins to rebuild

Robinson opts to sign a variety of JC players

UNLV assistant coach Mike Bradeson picked up a large cup of coffee and a couple of doughnuts and headed into the Lied Athletic Complex shortly before 6 this morning.

His job? To babysit the football office fax machine.

Today is the start of the national letter of intent signing period for high school and junior college football recruits. And beginning at 7 a.m., recruits could begin signing and faxing letters of intent to the college of their choice.

That meant that some UNLV recruits in the South could have begun faxing the school with their letters of intent around 5 a.m. local time.

Barring any last minute surprises -- recruits have been known to flip-flop the morning of letter of intent day -- it appears new UNLV coach John Robinson and his staff have made the most of their limited recruiting time since replacing Jeff Horton in December.

The Rebels scored particularly well in the junior college ranks, landing Southwest Mississippi JC running back Jeremi Rudolph, Mississippi Gulf Coast tight end Jermaine Curtis, Middle Georgia JC quarterback Jason Vaughn and a solid group of defensive linemen headed by Andre Miller of Manatee (Fla.) JC and Draper Redmon of Northwest Mississippi JC.

UNLV was also keeping its fingers crossed that defensive end Willie Sams (6-4, 285) of Southwest Mississippi JC would pick the Rebels over South Carolina.

Regardless of Sams' decision, Robinson and company filled a lot of gaping holes in a squad that went 0-11 last season.

"We accomplished quite a bit in a short time," Robinson said. "I'm real happy with our group of kids. It could have been bad."

Three mid-year junior college transfers -- the ultra-quick Rudolph, wide receiver Nate Turner (6-2, 200) of Compton (Calif.) College and Vaughn -- were very key to the class.

"The most important thing we needed at mid-season was a quarterback, a wide receiver and a running back," Robinson said. "And we got all three."

The 5-10, 180-pound Rudolph, rated the No. 2 prospect in the state of Florida in 1994 before deciding to sign a professional baseball contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, worked the phones hard and successfully trying to convince some of his fellow Mississippi JC players to come west.

"He's kind of a leader," Robinson said. "He's also a very fast, darting runner. He's a physical little guy, too. He's going to get the ball."

Turner, who toiled for an 0-10 Compton College squad, also will play a key role next fall.

"I think he's big-time," Robinson said. "If he played in the right JC program where the quarterback could throw a spiral, he'd have been a JC All-American. He's got a lot of things going for him like Keyshawn (Johnson, whom Robinson coached at USC). He's a real good-looking guy."

Robinson was also happy that the Rebels convinced arguably the two best prospects in Nevada, Cimarron-Memorial defensive tackle Kawika Sagapolu and Cheyenne quarterback Lawrence Turner, to stay home despite offers from Pac-10 schools.

"Sagapolu is potentially a big-time player here," Robinson said. "And I really like Turner and (Vista, Calif., wide receiver) Michael Johnson. They're both winners. They're good athletes with speed."

Robinson said he was encouraged by the reception he and his new staff got from potential recruits.

"People would come here and go, 'Oh, hey, something is emerging here,' " Robinson said. "I think people are excited about this school and this city."

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